Shahādah—لا إله إلا الله

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Contents:

• section1 [Meaning Of shahādah :

 لا إله إلا الله]

• section3[Two pillars of the shahādah]

• section2[Is merely uttering shahādah enough?]

Meaning Of shahādah :

 لا إله إلا الله

The true meaning of لا إله إلا الله is “There is no Deity worthy of worship in truth except Allâh, the Exalted (لا معبود حق إلا الله)”

—

It doesn't just mean that there's no creator except الله or no originator except الله or such other meanings, these all are not fully correct regarding it's meaning.

Because the pagan Arabs did not deny that الله is the sole Creator or Originator of everything,

And if you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) ask them: "Who has created the heavens and the earth," they will certainly say: "Allâh." 

Luqman 31:25

even their poetry was filled with such assertions which indicate that they believed in الله as the only Rabb and only Creator.

—

So, what did they understood when they were commanded to say لا إله إلا الله if they already believed in الله as being the only Creator and Rabb?

It was meant for them to believe in الله being the Only One worthy of all worship because although they believed in Him as the only One who can originate and create, they denied all worship being solely for Him having no partners.

When the Messenger ﷺ called them to give up shirk and worship الله Alone they became amazed by this and responded "Has he made the âlihah (gods) (all) into One Ilâh (God - Allâh). Verily, this is a curious thing!" Sad 38:5 

Therefore the true meaning of this declaration (لا إله إلا الله ) is لا معبود حق إلا الله meaning there's none truly worthy of worship or deserves to be worshipped except الله. So this term haqq or truly is to be used in the explanation of it's meaning as there are many other gods taken by people to worship but none of them are true gods and the only true Deity Who is worthy and deserving of all worship in truth is الله , Subḥānahu wa ta'ala. Anything taken besides Him as His partner is falsehood, anything towards which or anyone towards whom worship is directed for other than الله is falsehood.

That is because Allâh - He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Bâtil (falsehood). And verily, Allâh - He is the Most High, the Most Great.

[Al Hajj 22:62]

So this is the true meaning which people should reflect upon when declaring this testimony of faith.

Two Pillars of testimony 

This Testimony of faith لا اله إلا الله has two pillars :

1)Negation: This is in the first phrase 'لا اله'. It is to negate all forms of divinity attributed to other than الله . الله Alone is the One Deserving of all worship and He has no partners.

2)Affirmation: This is in the part 'إلا الله' or 'except Allaah'. It is to affirm the divinity to الله alone having no partners or associates.

•

This kind of affirmation and negation is found in many places in Qur'ān, for example we read daily in Al-Fātiḥah, ʾĀyah 5,

"إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ" -interpretation of the meaning- "You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)." This is an assertion that worship can be Directed to الله Alone.

Is merely uttering the Shahaadah sufficient?

If someone utters this Shahaadah knowing it's meaning, acting upon what it's meaning entails by negating all forms of worship to other than الله and affirming His Oneness and Uniqueness then this is A True Muslim.

But if smeone acts upon it without believing it in reality then he is a munāfiq (hypocrite) and anyone who opposes it by diverting his worship to other than الله, then he is a mushrik (polytheist) and kaafir (disbeliever) even if he utters this Shahaadah by his tongue.

So, It's not sufficient to just utter it with tongue only but it's also necessary and a must to believe in it by heart and act upon it.

________________________